Longleat Engagement Photographs with Ryan and Melissa

Yesterday Murray and I spent the day with Ryan and Melissa for their engagement photo shoot. They had chosen one of our most unusual wedding venue locations for their engagement photographs, Longleat Safari Park and House.

Longleat Engagement Photographs In The African Village

To start their Longleat engagement photographs we arrived in the ‘African Village’, which was incredibly apt as it was on safari in Africa that Ryan popped the question.

The giraffes and zebra were out feeding and made a fabulous backdrop for some ‘couple photographs’.

Longleat Engagement Photographs In The Rain

The weather however had different plans and as we always travel armed with umbrellas the rain didn’t have a chance to dampen the happy couple’s spirits.

With the rain subsiding and sunshine poking through the clouds a walk amongst the lemurs and wallabies saw Ryan and Melissa unable to put each other down. I think it was even obvious to the animals how head over heels in love this wonderful couple are.

Longleat Engagement Photographs With The Animals

Back in the car we entered the drive through safari and excitedly talked through their wedding plans.

Ryan and Melissa are planning to do away with some of the wedding traditions that hold little meaning to them and focus on the coming together of two people in love and their families. Even the number of guests has been carefully thought through to make the day more personal to them.

Our conversation was cut short by monkeys jumping on my car and hitching a lift about their enclosure. Further round we were all awestruck at the sight of camels, bison, horned oryx and a herd of white rhino!

Following the road we found ourselves feeding a herd of deer, who at one point I thought they were going to try to get in the car to join the happy couple for their shoot. The couple’s Longleat engagement photographs were certainly turning out to be unique!

Longleat House Marriage Proposal Photographs

By now the midday sun was out in full force, Ryan and Melissa hadn’t let go of each other all day and were still fondly smiling away. We decided a picnic in front of Longleat house would be a great idea. As no one was there to witness the original marriage proposal in Africa, Ryan thought he would try his luck again, after joking a reaction she said of course said yes!

Longleat Engagement Photographs On The Jungle Cruise

After strawberries in the sun we strolled back into the adventure park. Ryan’s green T-shirt worked a weird effect for our green screen photograph and we boarded the Jungle Boat Cruise. Longleat engagement photographs would not be complete without feeding sea lions, getting up close with two huge hippos and coming face to face with Nico, one of the world’s oldest silver back gorillas!

Save The Date Photographs

We had enough time to create some ‘Save the Date’ shots for their wedding invites and one of our renowned ‘clone the groom’ images.

The Key To My Heart Photographs

Before we left Melissa produced a tube of bubbles and asked for some ‘couple shots’ in the sun. She then explained the necklace that had caught our eye all day. Glinting in the sun a silver key sat on Melissa’s chest, being the big sweetheart he is Ryan had bought this for her as ‘the key to his heart’.

Ryan and Melissa are a genuinely lovely couple who want their big day to be a personal celebration of their love, unconstrained by wedding traditions and located in the visual beauty of Highcliffe Castle and The Mirimar Hotel Bournemouth wedding venues. After their Longleat engagement photographs we can’t wait for their wedding day.

2 Comments

Luke Davey on August 18, 2018 at 11:06 pm

Hi there I am thinking of this same idea next sunday, I just happened to type in on Google to see if there’s anything special I can add to this add I drop to one knee and ask her that one question she will only ever be asked the once. Is there anything help or support you could give? Thank you. Luke.